Business Travel

IATA bids farewell to paper ticket

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) launched a new era in air travel as it bid farewell to the paper ticket on the eve of the industry’s conversion to 100% electronic ticketing.

“Today we say goodbye to an industry icon,” said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA’s Director General and CEO. “The paper ticket has served us well, but its time is over. After four years of hard work by airlines around the world, tomorrow marks the beginning of a new, more convenient and more efficient era for air travel.”

Paper tickets date back to the 1920s. Each airline used a different form with varying rules. Airlines soon recognised the need for standardisation of traffic documents, regulations and procedures to support the growth of an industry that spanned the world.

In 1930, the IATA Traffic Committee developed the first standard hand-written ticket for multiple trips. These same standards served the industry into the early 1970s.

The first ticketing revolution occurred in 1972 with automation. The IATA Billing and Settlement Plan (BSP) for travel agents began in Tokyo that year. This led to the birth of the IATA neutral paper ticket. For the first time the IATA logo appeared on the cover of tickets that could be used by any travel agent to ticket journeys on almost any airline in the world.

While IATA will no longer issue the paper ticket stock, IATA neutral paper tickets issued by travel agents before June 1 remain valid for travel under the conditions they were purchased.

Paper tickets may still be provided by an airline from its own offices or from a travel agent in the USA, although it is anticipated the volumes will be very low.

To complete the conversion IATA has contacted 60,000 travel agents in more than 200 countries to collect the remaining unused paper tickets in the system - some 32 million worldwide.

These will be securely reclaimed, destroyed and recycled. “An era has ended. If you have a paper ticket, it’s time to donate it to a museum,” said Bisignani.

SriLankan launches latest collection

SriLankan Airlines has launched the latest catalogue for Serendib Treasures, its on-board duty free collection which features a wide range of exciting new products.

The collection features 170 products from the Serendib Treasures range of fragrances, cosmetics, liquor, tobacco, watches, jewellery, pens, gifts, toys, and souvenirs of Sri Lanka.

The new range includes the latest from the world’s leading fashion houses such as Cartier, Calvin Klein, Givenchy, Paco Rabanne, Christian Dior, Carolina Herrera, Emporio Armani, Elizabeth Arden, DKNY, Estee Lauder and L’Oreal. Also popular are spirits from Johnnie Walker, Camus, Chivas Regal, and Ballantines.

Manager Inflight Service Support, Jehan Karunaratne said: “The latest catalogue has been produced in a very attractive, user-friendly form, which will be very helpful for travellers choosing products from our extensive range.”

Passengers on board SriLankan flights can go through the catalogue at their leisure, give their orders to the cabin staff and collect their items from the extensive selection carried on board.

The airline’s helpful inflight crew, who have won many accolades including the award for being the World’s Friendliest Cabin Staff, are always ready to assist.

“Passengers should also watch out for the special offers that we frequently have, which include discounts and gifts,” said Karunaratne.

Hilton Colombo wins top area, regional and worldwide accolades

With the Sri Lankan tourism sector suffering several setbacks over the past year, the Hilton Colombo has been at the forefront of driving the highest levels of quality and service for hotel guests and team members alike.

It appears that these efforts have not gone unnoticed by the Hilton International’s esteemed guests as well as the hotel’s Regional and Worldwide headquarters, as the Hilton Colombo was recently singled out from over 500 hotels across the world to be awarded two of the most prestigious and coveted Hilton Brand Awards - the Asia Pacific Regional Hilton Brand Award Hotel of 2007 and the Worldwide Hilton Brand Award Hotel of 2007.

The Hilton Colombo was the best hotel in Asia in the Balanced Scorecard category. The Balanced Scorecard measures a hotel’s performance in team member satisfaction, team member training, guest service feedback and Hilton International’s Hilton Hhonors loyalty members’ feedback.

Not only did the Hilton Colombo achieve the most improved guest satisfaction scores for Asia in 2007 but also was the most improved hotel in the Asia Pacific region. The region covers 51 hotels from Sri Lanka to New Zealand to Japan.

The hotel also had the most improved Hilton Hhonors satisfaction scores for the Asia region. Hilton Hhonors is Hilton International’s award wining loyalty scheme and it is very satisfying that the frequent users of Hilton hotels worldwide nominated the Hilton Colombo as the most improved hotel in Asia during 2007.

The hotel’s combined guest satisfaction and Hilton Hhonors feedback was the highest in Asia Pacific.

Etihad passes safety audit with flying colours

Etihad Airways has passed a rigorous aviation industry safety audit with flying colours. Etihad Airways was praised after a specialist team from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) examined in detail the airline’s safety procedures and processes.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) Operational Safety Audit - IOSA - seeks to ensure that airlines are compliant with safety requirements and recommended practices determined by IATA. Etihad gained IOSA accreditation in 2006 also with zero findings.

The audit is repeated with different standards every two years to ensure on-going compliance. A team of six external auditors from IATA spent five days looking at more than 900 separate procedures and processes before issuing a very positive report.

Lead auditor from IATA’s IOSA team, Charl DuToit said, “Etihad achieved a remarkably good result for the second time in a row.

The IOSA audit team does not see results like this many times. Etihad did its homework and prepared the organisation very well for this complex project.”